The story of Chewie:
Ted ‘Chewbacca’ Houdini was originally purchased by my mother-in-law as a puppy. She named him Ted or Teddy Bear because when he was a puppy he looked like a dog version of a teddy bear and required as much affection as a child would give a teddy. Ted got bigger and bigger (as dogs do). She is disabled and loves him so much. Last year she was diagnosed with arthritis in her hands, legs and feet and she was diagnosed with diabetes, this caused her to deteriorate to the point where the giant loving dog was just too big for her to walk anymore. Instead of sending him away to another family or sending him to Wood Green my husband and I took Ted in.
Ted was almost 2 years old when we brought him home to his older brother Boris and our children Phoenix (8), Malachi (10) and Baillie (12). He was instantly part of our family. Ted soon started to be called Chew or Chewie because as his adult teeth began to come in, unlike most dogs who like bones and chew toys, Chewie (Ted) chose to find my stilettos and eat only the heel off 6 pairs of shoes. Some of which I had just bought. He never really ate anything else. Just chewed his way through my shoes, even when I hid them in closets, he found them (somehow) and ate them.
By the time Chewie was 2 and half he began to find holes in our chain-link fence and fit his now quite large self through 3 inch holes and go for runs in our neighbour’s back yard, as dogs do. He also figured out how to unlock windows that open left to right and climb out of them. He soon became known on our street as Houdini. Our neighbour gave him this name 3 or so months ago our Chewie, Houdini’d out of our home while we were at work and the boys were at school. We are still unsure how he got out but our neighbours who caught him, think he opened a second story window, climbed down the ledge, jumped onto a truck roof and then ran down the front of the truck. He had no scratches, scuffs or broken limbs. After he made it out, he then proceeded to take himself for a walk down to our neighbours to play with their dogs. One of our other neighbours called the County Council Dog warden, who came and took him to Wood Green our local Animal Shelter. My husband (who when he was called immediately left work) went to Wood Green to retrieve our puppy. When he retrieved him we were told they had him listed as a Mastiff Mix. We have the paperwork to prove that Wood Green had listed then as a Mastiff Mix.
What has happened to Chewie:
On the 30th of April the Huntingdon Police came to our home with a warrant and removed our dog Ted "Chewbacca" Houdini on the premise that he was a Japanese Tosa. This was because a member of staff at Wood Green (who had him listed as a Mastiff mix 3 months ago) made a statement that he was a Japanese Tosa.
Japanese Tosa's are only a restricted dog in the UK (according to my google searches), they are NOT ILLEGAL. All that someone needs to have a Japanese Tosa is a certification to have one and one that says the dog isn't dangerous. If we had only known he looked a little bit like one, we would have gotten these certifications to prevent all of this. I didn't even know there was a breed called a Japanese Tosa!
Chewie is not a Japanese Tosa but he does sort of look like one. We know for a fact that he isn’t, his mom is a Rottweiler and his dad is half Mastiff, half Bordeaux. But the Huntingdon Police said because the statement was made by a member of staff at Wood Green they had to take him. The police have since done a “sight test” and said by this they have confirmed Chewie is a Tosa.
There is no such test as a “Japanese Tosa test” according the British. This is because there are only 2 in the whole country. There aren’t enough to actually make a test.
The "sight" test which was performed is not actually a test to determine that he is a Japanese Tosa but fighting dog based on a Pitbull's physical attributes. This test is to prove he is a "fighting" dog which any dog that is of a mixed breed that includes large breeds and results in a large light brown dog with a big chest and long legs could be accidentally identified as. The police won't pay for a genetic test that proves his mom and dad are who they are or the Wisdom Panel test that proves two-three generations back. Apparently a "sight" test which is entirely subjective is enough to put our dog down
Why we need help:
The police are now saying we need to prove Ted “Chewie” Houdini is not a Japanese Tosa. If we fail to do so, he will be put down and both my husband and I will face criminal charges. We have 6 weeks to pay for an expert, have him visit Chewie, hire a solicitor and save our puppy.
My husband and I both work full time and we don't claim any benefits from the government. We have 3 children, one of which has Asperger’s. As many of you out there know having a family and two incomes means you have enough to survive, not enough for emergencies.
We have found a dangerous dog expert named Guy who is willing to help us at a reduced rate of £1,100.00. This doesn’t include the amount it will cost to pay for a solicitor. We can't afford the £1,100.00 for an analyst to visit Chewie and confirm that he isn't, let alone a solicitor.
We are paying for a DNA test to show Chewie’s lineage and a paternity test to show who his parents are.
BUT…
We need help funding the solicitor and expert required to prove Chewie is not a Japanese Tosa but a Mastiff, Bordeaux and Rottweiler mix.
He is our baby. He is a healthy, loving, caring and sweet dog and we just want to bring him home. He has never done anything wrong he is just big baby. He has never hurt anyone or anything, accept for maybe my shoes.
He is a major part of our family and we are all struggling to manage without him. Especially our eldest who is disabled, his whole day was structured around Chewie and is now having major issues adjusting to him not being in our home.
We so worried about our poor puppy. All we want is to get him home and hug him and never ever let anyone do this to him again.
We need your help. Please. Donate what you can, even just £1. Please help our family be reunited! If you can't help with money please spread the word and help us save him?
Thank you,
With Love and Puppy Kisses
The Matacchieri-Heritage Family